It’s looking like Turnaround Tuesday for stocks after a bruising three-day stretch .
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average ( ^DJI ) are up about 1,000 points as traders lock in on the Trump administration reportedly beginning trade discussions with Japan. Gains are also being seen on the S&P 500 ( ^GSPC ) and Nasdaq Composite ( ^IXIC ). The news is interpreted as a sign Trump’s broad tariffs — which are set to kick in on Wednesday — will prove to be a negotiating tactic.
China, however, vowed today to “fight to the end” on the tariff front.
Read more: How to protect your money during economic turmoil, stock market volatility
"Despite this morning’s recovery, markets are hardly in a good place right now, with an incredible amount of volatility still happening across different asset classes. Bear in mind that the S&P 500 is now down 10.73% since the tariff announcements, making it the worst 3-day performance since March 2020 at the height of the pandemic turmoil," Deutsche Bank strategist Jim Reid pointed out in a note this morning.
Despite the heightened risk environment, Wall Street analysts appear to be emerging from their bunkers and sticking with stocks they have liked for a while. There have even been a few upgrades today — Morgan Stanley upgraded brokerage Charles Schwab ( SCHW ) to Overweight, citing its defensive characteristics.
Railroad operator Union Pacific ( UNP ) caught an upgrade to Buy at Citi, which contends the management team has already expressed economic uncertainty to investors.
Here are three stocks Wall Street is out defending on Tuesday on slight signs of cooling in the tariff turmoil that has rocked markets in the past week.
IBM ( IBM )
"We continue to hold a constructive view on IBM and believe the company is well-positioned to meet (if not beat) their target model introduced during their recent analyst day event. Although there have been concerns surrounding broader macro uncertainty/tariffs, we think IBM’s business should be relatively more insulated against any potential economic headwinds vs. peers (mission critical solutions, G2000 customer base, high recurring software/services revenue mix).
Daryanani outlined some key points underlying his thesis:
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"Durable software momentum: IBM guided to ~10% annual software revenue growth and we think the company should be able to sustainably deliver on this target driven by secular Red Hat strength, AI/related tailwinds, solid target price growth, and M&A."
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"Consulting improvement: Although this segment has been an area of softness in recent quarters (macro-related), we think there have been signs of consulting improvement (low Federal government exposure) in addition to AI tailwinds (~80% of IBM’s AI book of business is consulting)."
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"Mainframe cycle benefits: The mission critical nature of mainframe + product innovation (mainframe tools, integration with OpenShift, AI tools) contribute to growth and stickiness of the platform."
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"Large-cap enterprise value to free cash flow valuation suggests room for upside vs. current levels: IBM currently trades at an ~32% discount to the large-cap tech median enterprise value to free cash flow multiple. Assuming IBM stock can expand toward the ~28x EV/FCF median under an upside scenario, we think the stock can approach ~$350."
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"Replicable M&A playbook: M&A will continue to be a key contributor to IBM’s overall growth profile. Their success with Red Hat (cross-sell, partner ecosystem, accelerating top line growth) provides the company with the playbook (go to market synergies) to replicate their prior success with new deals (we think this could happen with HCP as well)."
Meta ( META )
"We expect all eyes on Meta management forward-looking comments for 1Q25 earnings, with particular focus on the pace of advertiser demand, impact of global trade uncertainty, and view of future investments to support growth ambitions. User engagement remains a strength for the company with our analysis of Apptopia data indicating an acceleration in first quarter domestic time spent growth across both Facebook (+9.3% vs. +6.5% in the fourth quarter) and Instagram (+5.9% vs. -1.0% in the fourth quarter).
"Similarly, our advertiser conversations see Meta again as a share taker in the first quarter despite emerging macro-economic concerns as the combination of leading ad unit performance and growth initiatives (Advantage+, Reels, messaging) were cited as incremental positives. Our first quarter advertising revenue forecast remains at the high end of company guidance ($39.8-$41.8 billion), though we temper our ad growth outlook for the balance of the year to reflect our expectation of slowing industry-wide ad demand (now 12.5% vs. our prior 15.1% 2025 growth). We do not expect the company to temper its AI investment roadmap with this [earnings] call."
Planet Fitness ( PLNT )
"We recommend investors to stay invested in Planet Fitness shares and take advantage of volatility to add closer to ~$90 relative to our unchanged December 2026 $98 price target," Ivankoe wrote.
"On 1Q25 [earnings] call we expect management to provide more detail on broader membership trends including across various demographics, sensitivity to the business and franchise unit economics from potential tariff impacts, updated thoughts on click-to-cancel ruling and rollout, and a strategy update as the newer c-suite members settle in.
"Our confidence in the Planet Fitness business model comes from the fact: 1) PLNT remains the lowest fixed-cost operator in the space with best value proposition for all members - at scale in almost any environment, 2) the brand and the model’s strong track record of resilience, and gaining market share during times of macro uncertainty — as seen in 2007-10 period, 3) a lower than current rates outlook in the near-medium term that should support development financing, and importantly 4) any potential tariffs having little impact on new club unit economics — that can be absorbed between suppliers and the company before passing through to franchises."
Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance's Executive Editor. Follow Sozzi on X @BrianSozzi , Instagram , and LinkedIn